The invention relates to data retrieval system with integrated position locating configured to provide geographically relevant information to a user based on current location.
Numerous tools have been developed to aid travelers in their travels by those who have gone before them. For example, early man created maps to aid navigation across geographic areas and the high seas. However, the art of cartography is of limited use to many travelers. Certain maps, such as aquatic maps, require specialized training and tools to be of use to the common traveler.
Furthermore, even easy to read street maps suffer from many drawbacks. Although street maps are helpful in guiding a traveler from point A to point B, the portable size of these written maps necessarily results in them providing very limited information. Typically, street maps only provide a user with the locations, name, and type of roads, railroads and waterways traversing the mapped area (in conjunction with the names of the municipalities encompassing the area). In some cases, street maps of a relatively small geographic area may provide the physical location of particular buildings and landmarks. However, presumably due to the portable size of maps and the lack of space for the written word, these maps typically do not provide information on the history or significance of a particular landmark; and do not provide any other information about, or pictures of, the area that would be of value to the traveler. Often a personal tour guide is the only source of this type of valuable information.
Written tour books for travelers have been developed in an attempt to fill the void of information left by map page alone. However, tour books suffer from similar drawbacks in many instances. For example, tour books are designed to be portable and thus are also somewhat limited in the amount of information they carry and are soon outdated. Furthermore, the relative volume of information makes them much more difficult to navigate through than a map. Oftentimes, the way the information is organized requires a traveler to do a lot of reading and pre-planning before a journey. If the traveler should wind up in an area different than the one pre-planned, developing an alternative itinerary often proves difficult because information about the area may be difficult to locate or easily missed depending on the particular tour book, its organization, and the user""s familiarity with the book. A personal tour guide having already mastered the area would be of particular use in developing an alternative agenda.
One area where the art has attempted to provide the information of a tour guide (without the need for waiting for a designated tour time) is in the area of audiotaped tours. In certain museums and other venues, a visitor may rent an audiotaped tour and headset for the event. After starting the tape, the visitor is guided through the event step by step and provided with tour-guide type information as if a live tour guide was leading the visitor through the tour. However, like live tours, recorded tours make it difficult, if not impossible, for a visitor to customize the tour. A visitor is basically precluded from varying the order of the tour, adding to the tour, or skipping parts of the tour by the inherent difficulty in finding the appropriate place on the tape for a particular part of the tour. Some systems have the prerecorded information broadcast on a room by room basis which allows users to wonder around and not follow a prescribed path. Even with these systems, the user only receives what the preparer thought to tell him/her. A personal tour guide allowing a visitor to add, subtract, otherwise modify, or inquire about items on the tour would overcome many of the drawbacks of both recorded and professionally-guided tours.
One area where the art has made virtually no advances is in aiding a traveler in identifying areas and conditions of visual and picturesque prominence for viewing or photo opportunities. Along the highways and bi-ways of America one sees xe2x80x9cScenic Overlookxe2x80x9d or other signage indicating a site of visual interest. Sometimes similar signage or information is found in city buildings or along mountain trails to direct a visitor to a viewing area. However, these signs fail to give the interested traveler any information about the optimal viewing conditions, such as the best time of day, time of year, and weather conditions, for experiencing the view or capturing a desired photograph. Oftentimes, this valued information is only known to natives, residents, or previous travelers, and therefore inaccessible to the ordinary traveler. Furthermore, signage and associated information is expensive and cumbersome to install (and remove) in many locales. Even where signage is feasible; the providing, updating, adding or subtracting of related information may not be feasible.
Oftentimes, the provision of signage to direct an interested traveler to a place of visual or picturesque significance is not feasible. This is particularly true in the great outdoors where not only the expense of displaying signs is prohibitive, but also the damage to the aesthetic beauty and pristine conditions of the area counsel against unnecessary signage. The absence of signage is unfortunate for the interested traveler because most trail maps (and city maps) fail to adequately identify areas of optimal picturesque quality that are out of the traveler""s immediate sight, but within the general vicinity. Furthermore, even when indicated as a scenic point of interest on a map, the map typically fails to include sample photographs and viewing conditions to let the traveler decide if a trek to the designated area is worthwhile. A personal tour guide having personal knowledge of an area may be the only source for discovering that not only is there a site of visual interest nearby, but also that a visit to the site under present conditions is worthwhile.
The use of a map, or any navigational system, requires the user to know their location relative to a known landmark or their exact location on the Earth. One recent advance in the art which aids individuals in identifying and tracking their exact location on the Earth is the global positioning system (GPS).
Aside from positional data, there is limited information in GPS to date. GPS has been used in connection with a moving map display to aid auto travelers in navigating the highways and bi-ways of America. However, the moving map has little information other than information on the physical location of the roads being navigated. GPS has also been used to aid pilots in finding the closest airport in emergencies. However, the system provides little information other than the best route to take to reach the airport.
GPS has been used with cameras. U.S. Pat. No. 5,913,78 (Kimura et al.) discloses that a camera can be coupled with a GPS system for the purpose of providing locational information on a photograph to indicate where on the Earth the photo was taken.
The foregoing underscores some of the problems and limitations associated with travel aids and positioning systems.
The present invention is directed to a system and method which relates to a position locating system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a positioning system adapted to provide a user with location dependent and relevant information, allow a user to give information, and/or otherwise allow a user to interact with selected information about objects, features, events and/or other like information in the vicinity of the user.
The present invention overcomes many of the practical problems described above and offers new advantages as well. The present invention includes a positioning system adapted to allow a user to access, view, use, provide, or otherwise interact with, selected information about particular sites, items, features, conditions, and/or other phenomena in the vicinity of the geographic area in which the user operates.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable positioning system adapted to provide a user with information about nearby sites. It is a related object of the invention to provide a portable positioning system adapted to provide information about nearby sites which are identified to be of particular interest to the user.
It is another object of the invention to provide a positioning system adapted to accept and/or communicate user-inputted information about sites to a database for use by others accessing the system.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a portable positioning system adapted to provide tour guide-type information for aiding a traveler. It is a further object of the invention to provide a positioning system adapted to aid a traveler, wherein the system is interfaced or integrated such that user-inputted information is accepted and used for developing or altering an itinerary or agenda.
Another object of the invention is to provide a positioning system adapted to provide a user with information for locating a photo-spot. As used herein xe2x80x9cphoto-spotxe2x80x9d is intended to mean a spot from which to view, photograph, or otherwise capture a site of interest. It is a further object of the invention to provide a positioning system for finding a photo-spot, wherein the system provides the user with optimal viewing conditions. It is a related object of the invention to provide a photo-spot finding system that also provides the user with realtime weather and time information. According to yet another related object of the invention, the positioning system also provides the user with a visual image of the site of interest.
These and other objects may be realized by a portable location database system including a positioning processor configured to identify a present location of the system. A clock provides time information. A database stores information about, while a display is configured to provide, in response to the present location and the time clock information, a visual display of at least the nearest of said sites having realtime information satisfying a predetermined criteria.
Further objects of the present invention may be satisfied by providing the positioning systems described above, wherein the positioning system is interfaced with, integral with, or provided with an optical system capable of projecting an image of a subject onto a light sensitive media.
According to this aspect of the invention, the optical device is preferably a camera. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, a presently preferred embodiment comprises a camera having a positioning system built into the camera. Also according to this aspect of the invention, another preferred embodiment comprises a camera in communication with a positioning system and having a display panel for viewing site information and/or directions to a site.
Additional objects of the invention may be satisfied by providing the integrated optical devices described above, wherein the site information includes stored images of the sites capable of being viewed by a user of the device. Other objects of the invention may be realized by providing the aforementioned devices, wherein the site information includes imaging data comprising camera parameters for capturing the optimal image of the site with the camera.
It is another object of the invention to provide the integrated optical devices described herein, wherein the image generated by the device is associated or labeled with the location of the system and preferably including realtime information.
It is yet another object of the invention to provide a positioning system adapted to accept optical device images and/or associated location information and provide such information or images for access and use by other users of the positioning system.
In accordance with another object of the invention, there is disclosed methods of using the aforementioned systems and devices.
The above and other objects, aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following enabling description and drawings. The following enabling disclosure is directed to one of ordinary skill in the art and presupposes that those aspects of the invention within the ability of the ordinarily skilled artisan are understood and appreciated. The aspects and features of the invention believed to be novel, and other elements and characteristics of the invention, are set forth with particularity in the appended claims.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.